Every week, NPRI President Andy Matthews writes a column for NPRI's week-in-review email. If you are not getting our emails, which contain our latest commentaries and news stories, you can sign up here to receive them.
Nearly 200 NPRI supporters gathered at the Eldorado in Reno on Wednesday night for our fourth annual Spring Celebration. We were there, of course, to celebrate the Institute’s achievements over the past year, but also to commit ourselves to the important work that lies ahead.
And boy, is there a lot to do.
Our keynote speaker was Dr. Yuri Maltsev, a former economic advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev and now a professor at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Dr. Maltsev was part of the team that developed Gorbachev’s policy of perestroika, the term for the package of political and economic reforms implemented in the waning years of the Soviet Union.
Lots of people have sounded the alarm over the continuing slide into statism we’re experiencing here in the United States. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone issue that warning as incisively or with as much credibility as Dr. Maltsev did on Wednesday.
This is a man who saw first-hand the horrors that are unleashed when government is left unrestrained, and when the supposed good of the “collective” is elevated above the rights of the individual. Fortunately for Dr. Maltsev, he was able to defect to the U.S. from the Soviet Union in 1989 and leave those horrors behind him.
Or so he thought.
What Dr. Maltsev has observed, especially in recent years, is America’s slow but steady abandonment of the principles that inspired our nation’s founding, and our increasing acceptance of the kinds of government policies that have destroyed so many societies around the world.
His remarks on Wednesday night were meant as a wake-up call to those of us who love liberty and appreciate its unique power to foster prosperity and opportunity: We are letting it slip away.
The good news, according to Dr. Maltsev, is that it’s not too late. As far as we’ve drifted from our nation’s bedrock principles, we’ve not yet reached the point of no return. His warning, then, can also be seen as something else ─ a challenge to all of us to engage and win this crucial battle for our country’s future.
To those of you who joined us in Reno on Wednesday night, thank you for taking the time to hear that important message.
And to all of you, thank you for all you do to fight for the principles that made America the greatest country the world has ever known.
Your efforts are needed more now than ever.
Until next time,
Andy Matthews
NPRI President
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